(before reading the following nonsense, please keep in mind that i didn't actually read too much about whole rockstar thing in the first place. My understanding is that two people left and started running their mouths about unfair work conditions.)
I know the industry has some harsh working conditions, but when you think about it, only a few employees left and complained, leaving the rest of the staff on board, obviously quite happy to continue working in those conditions. Who here would not love to say that they helped create RDR? Most of you on here will stay up nights endlessly working on you're own projects for absolutely no money, so why are you suddenly in uproar that it is happening inside a company? Call me harsh, but I completely agree with fallout and i'm on the 'if you don't like it, leave' side.
People can say what they want about this whole ordeal, but you never really know how you'd handle a situation like this until you have actually been in it.
I've had experience with harsh working conditions, both in freelance and in normal work. Some certain companies had given unrealistic deadlines for projects, which left me up for days trying to get it finished in time. Lack of sleep aside, i love doing what i do, so i get on and do it. If i hated what i was doing, I wouldn't do it, pure and simple. The same thing happened with another
company that i won't name here that i worked for briefly a while back. Our delivery deadlines were so strict that we were often working for 9-12 hours a day, with a single 15 minute break. We were often given strict words by our superiors for taking our
legally allowed breaks later on in the day. Coupled with a 5am start and crappy wages, this did not make for a happy Oolite. Keep in mind i was only contracted to do 5-11am shifts, leaving at my contracted hour was also a big no-no, people were constantly punished for leaving after their contracted hours and i even missed a lot of university because of i wasn't even allowed to leave to attend lectures. The final straw came when i was given an
official warning for taking my
Legally allowed dinner break. I told them where they could stick their job and handed in my notice.
Sure, it's not right that i was treated this way, but i would have been a sucker if i stayed. On the other hand, if i loved the job i would have put up with it, because no matter how much i was overworked, the sheer pleasure of working there would have been enough to spur me on through the day.
The way i see it, some people consider staying on those extra hours a pleasure, other people see it as unfair and illegal torture and something that hasn't happened since the 1800's.
Don't they say one mans trash is another mans treasure?
Now again, these are my own personal opinions, i know for certain that if i was put under these conditions at Rockstar, the last thing i'd be doing the moment i left is running my mouth all across the internet, making a fool of myself and only disappointing my former colleagues. Anyone who says that they aren't buying the game for ethical reasons, i hope all of your food is fairtrade organic stuff, all of your clothes aren't made with the help of sweatshop factories, the fish you eat is all sustainable and you plant a bloody tree for every piece of paper you use...
...Why stop at games? There are a lot of worse workplace conditions in the world.
Now, regarding red dead. Haters be damned i'm going to tell you why i loved the ending.
Edit: the code snippet is stretching the page so i'm adding a new line after every sentence.
It was the perfect way to end Johns story, the only way he could escape his past was in his death.
It was a glorious moment in the game and i could not help feel a little happy that i saw him go in peace and finally let go (not to mention the 3 days of crying that followed at the death of a character i'd come to love ;) ).
Think about it for a second, the whole entirety of the game, was him trying to get away from what he once was, not just finding williamson and Dutch, it was about finally laying to rest the life he left behind, the only way he could keep his family safe was to sacrifice himself.
He could have easily escaped out the back, but he chose not to, he knew he was walking out to his death and he had accepted it.
Not to mention the scene itself was done exceptionally well.
Yes, I don't like Jack as much as John, but that's because i haven't spent 30odd hours getting to know him.
The only feelings i have towards the character is that he's lost the three most important people in his life.
You want to play as John again? Reload the game and stop hating on a beautiful ending to a brilliant character. The last few missions were also done well, at first i was unsure of what their purpose was, but i realise it was to get to know the family as they were, the banter that John and Abby had reminded me of how me and the missus talk to each other.
It was sweet to see.
That being said though, the actual final ending to the game could have been done a little better, it was great seeing the credits roll after the revenge mission but the mission itself felt a little too short.
I did love the character of Jack so much that i murdered Ross' wife, burnt down the house and then dragged his brother around on the back of my horse before i hogtied him up and dropped him off a bridge...
Spoilers out of the way, i started to really get into Bonnie as a character and it was a shame that 70% of the game she wasn't around. She was a strong character that could have been expanded on a little more.
